Ground Anchor

ABSTRACT

A ground anchor having a head and anchoring elements in the form of pipes or rods, wherein the ground anchor comprises an anchor head ( 5 ) which has a polygon or an ellipse cross-section, the upper part of which is open or closed with at least one opening having a head socket ( 7 ), said ground anchor contains at least two anchoring elements ( 6 ) in the form of pipes or rods passing through at least two at an angle to the vertical axis of the anchor head and anchoring element guides fixed to the anchor head ( 3 ) wherein the anchoring element guides have a hole or holes ( 4 ) for blocking the anchoring element through, wherein a screw or screws ( 8 ) lock the anchoring element passes and wherein the head socket ( 7 ) has a hole or holes ( 9 ) for locking the fastening element ( 1 ) with self-tapping screws ( 2 ).

The subject of the invention is a ground anchor for fixing elements in the ground. Ground anchors are used in building of engineering structures and are used to anchor in the ground of loaded structural elements in order to maintain their stability. They are used in particular for attaching building structures, fences, gates and other installations and devices that don't require foundations to the ground.

There are anchors widely known and widely used which are embedded in previously made holes of the required depth and filled with mortar, mostly concrete. Anchors with such a construction are generally indelible. It's an injection type ground anchor whose anchoring element (support) in the ground is an elongated bond made of bonded cement paste, formed by filling with various injection techniques a previously made deep (20-30 m) round hole. During the injection in this bond is placed a tie. There are used rigid and rope tie. The length of such bond is from 6-10 m, and diameter depending on the type of soil, injection technique and diameter of the prepared hole from 20-50 cm. The load capacity of such an anchor is the resultant of the frictional size of the side of the bond (its side surface) with the surrounding soil. After being used—it is practically impossible to remove it from the ground. This can create big problems in the implementation of other deeply deposited objects in this area.

There are also known expansion anchors, placed in previously made holes, where the clamp is obtained by increasing their diameter. This type of anchor can be used in rock holes, especially in the mining industry. In both examples given above the force fixing the anchor in the hole is the resultant of the friction force.

There are also known anchors, whose heads are equipped with elements in the form of properly shaped plates whose opening is forced by appropriate equipment, which allows their anchoring. This solution is described in the description U.S. Pat. No. 1,844,273 where the anchor head is provided with two plates, which opening is forced by a flat spring. Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 1,606,147 where properly shaped plates are opened by using a conical nut located on the threaded rod from the side of the anchor head. Another example is the description PL199940 where it was applied specialized device for inserting and opening anchors in the ground. An undoubted advantage of this solution is the possibility to remove it and, in the absence of damage, install in a different location. In the presented examples the opening of the anchoring elements which are rotatably fastened plates, is forced by auxiliary elements and tools, such as springs, conical nuts and embedding devices. In each of these examples, it seems indispensable to drill holes in the ground before introducing the anchor.

There is known anchor from patent specification U.S. Pat. No. 1,844,273. This anchor has a shaft and plates connected by joint with a coupling pin. The plates are equipped with springs and arched elements used to open and fix it in the ground. The anchor of this embodiment is of small size and is designed for anchoring of small parts and can withstand small loads.

The essence of the invention is a ground anchor having a head and anchoring elements in the form of pipes or rods, characterized that in the head of the anchor with a polygon or ellipse cross-section the upper part is open or closed having at least one hole with a head socket, it contains at least two anchoring elements in the form of pipes or rods, passing through at least two anchor head be placed at an angle to the vertical axis, and attached to the head of the anchor guides the anchoring element, where the guides of anchoring element have a hole or holes for blocking the anchoring element through which the screw or screws blocking the anchoring element passes through, and the head seat has a hole or openings for blocking the element fixed with self-tapping screws. The anchor may have two guides of the anchoring element and two anchoring elements or three guides of the anchoring element and three anchoring elements or four guides of the anchoring element and four anchoring elements. Cross-section of the head's seat can have the shape of a polygon or ellipse. Cross-section of the guides of the anchoring element can also have the shape of a polygon or ellipse, in turn cross-section of the anchoring element can also have the shape of a polygon or ellipse. Equally, in the head slot there is an element for height adjustment, is embedded an adapter for mounting the fastening element.

The anchor according to the invention is capable of carrying any loads acting on the fixed element both in the vertical direction (pulling out of the ground, pressing into the ground) and forces acting at various angles (fixing extraction of masts, fruit ropes, fixing aircraft). The anchor doesn't require any interference in the domestic soil, require drilling, curing or using any hardening materials (concrete, mortar, etc.).

The subject of the invention is shown in the drawing where FIG. 1 presents an anchor with four guides in a general view, FIG. 2 presents an anchor with four guides in a side view, FIG. 3 presents an anchor with four guides in a plan view, FIG. 4 presents an anchor with three guides in a general view, FIG. 5 presents an anchor with three guides in a plan view, FIG. 6 presents an anchor with two guides in a general view, FIG. 7 presents an anchor with two guides in a plan view, FIG. 8 presents an anchor for large loads or low load bearing land, FIG. 9 presents an anchor with adapter and height adjustment, FIG. 10 presents an anchor with a head for direct fixing of the fixed element. Designation of figure elements: 1—fixed element, 2—the lock screw height of the fixed element, 3—guides of the anchoring element, 4—hole for blocking the anchoring element, 5—an anchor head, 6—anchoring element, 7—head socket, 8—the lock screw of the anchoring element, 9—hole for locking the fixed element, 10—ground level, 11—element for height adjustment, 12—adapter for attaching fixed element.

The main element of the anchor is the anchor head 5, which is fixed in the ground by driving steel pipes or rods 6, passing through the guides 3 of the anchoring element 6 attached to the anchor head 5. These guides are placed at an angle to the vertical axis of the anchor head, allowing the force needed to move the entire anchor in any direction is multiplied. In the upper part of the anchor head there is also a head socket 7, in which is fastened the fixed element 1—e.g. a fence post, road sign, platform support, etc. (FIG. 1). The fixed element 1 can also be inserted directly into the anchor head—then the anchor head is not closed by the head socket (FIG. 10). The anchor element guides and the head seat are welded to the anchor head. The guides have holes 4 for blocking, by means of the lock screw 8 the anchoring elements, the possibility of the head moving relative to the inserted anchoring elements (e.g. pipes) after setting the end position of the anchor. Allowing this, we have the possibility of very precise settings, e.g. the height of the fence post or the height of the platform, terrace, etc. Depending on the anticipated force needed to fix a given fixed element and the type of soil, the anchor can be found in various sizes, number of guides, length of driven pipes. The anchor head is made in a way that enables fixing a given type of structural element (e.g. for a square post for system fences or for a road sign). The anchor head can also be made as a head with the option of mounting an additional adapter 12 for fixing of the fixed element. In this case, is inserted into the head of the head 7 an element 11 for adjusting the height (e.g. a screw), which makes it possible to adjust the mounting level of the fixed element (e.g. for attaching a wooden pole or for mounting the extraction rope). Due to the fact that only pipes (rods) passing through the guides are driven, no risk of damaging the anchor head or (what is more important) the fixed element is made at any time during the anchor assembly. Fixed element inserted in the socket in the anchor head, set roughly to the vertical and using a hammer or a special attachment for the rotary hammer we drive through the guides of the steel pipe head. After sinking the pipes at full depth, we set the anchor exactly to the vertical and block the position of the head by screwing the appropriate number of self-tapping screws into the pipes through the holes in the head guides. Then insert or extend the fixed element in the head to the desired height and block its position by means of self-tapping screws screwed into the element through the hole in the head seat. 

1. A ground anchor having a head and anchoring elements in the form of pipes or rods, characterized in that in the anchor head with a polygon or an ellipse cross-section the upper part is open or closed with at least one opening having a head socket, contains at least two anchoring elements in the form of pipes or rods passing through at least two at an angle to the vertical axis of the anchor head and anchoring element guides fixed to the anchor head where the anchoring element guides have a hole or holes for blocking the anchoring element through which the screw or screws that lock the anchoring element passes and the head seat has a hole or holes for locking the fastening element with self-tapping screws.
 2. The ground anchor according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that it has two guides of the anchoring element and two anchoring elements.
 3. The ground anchor according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that it has three guides of the anchoring element and three anchoring elements.
 4. The ground anchor according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that it has four guides of the anchoring element and four anchoring elements.
 5. The ground anchor according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the cross-section of the head socket is in the shape of a polygon.
 6. The ground anchor according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the cross-section of the head socket is in the shape of an ellipse.
 7. The ground anchor according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the cross-section of the guides of the anchoring element is in the shape of a polygon.
 8. The ground anchor according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the cross-section of the guides of the anchoring element is in the shape of an ellipse.
 9. The ground anchor according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the cross-section of the anchoring element is in the shape of a polygon.
 10. The ground anchor according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the cross-section of the anchoring element is in the shape of an ellipse.
 11. The ground anchor according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that in the socket head is an element for height adjustment on which is mounted an adapter for attaching said fixed element. 